n the
side of the Republic. Patriotism is a virtue, but the battle-field is man's
place. Let the women stay at home and make the bandages to bind
the wounded, and keep the braziers lighted to warm returning men.

I will not write thee more of troubles, but I will tell thee that thy box of
clothing came and is most welcome; also the cooking oil, which gave
our food the taste of former days. The oils and sauces bought at
shops are not so pure as those thy servants make within the
compound, nor does the cook here prepare things to my taste. Canst
send me Feng-yi, who understands our customs? Thy son has no
great appetite, and I hope that food prepared in homely ways may
tempt him to linger longer at the table. He is greatly over-worked, and
if he eat not well, with enjoyment of his rice, the summer will quite
likely find him ill.

Thy daughter and thy family who touch thy hand,
Kwei-li

6
My Dear Mother,
Thy letter came, and I thank thee for thy advice. It is most difficult to
act upon. I cannot shut Wan-li within an inner chamber, nor can I
keep her without rice until she sees the wisdom of her ways. The
times are truly different; we mothers of the present have lost our
power to control our children, and cannot as in former days compel
obedience. I can only talk to her; she laughs. I quote to her the words
of the Sage: "Is any blessing better than to give a man a son, man's
prime desire by which he and his name shall live beyond himself; a
foot for him to stand on, a hand to stop his falling, so that in his son's
youth he will be young again, and in his strength be strong." Be the
mother of men; and I hear that, that is China's trouble. She has too
many children, too many thousands of clutching baby fingers, too
many tiny mouths asking for their daily food. I am told, by this learned
daughter of mine, that China has given no new thing to the world for
many tens of centuries. She has no time to write, no time to think of
new inventions; she must work for the morrow's rice. "How have you
eaten?" Is the salutation that one Chinese makes to another when
meeting on a pathway; and in that question is the root of our greatest
need. I am told that we are a nation of rank materialists; that we pray
only for benefits that we may feel or see, instead of asking for the
blessings of the Spirit to be sent us from above; that the women of my
time and kind are the ruin of the country, with our cry of sons, sons!

But if our girl